With more than two million page views and more than 4,500 items, this blog provides news and commentary on public policy, business and economic issues related to the $3 billion California stem cell agency, officially known as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine(CIRM). David Jensen, a retired California newsman, has published this blog since January 2005. His email address is djensen@californiastemcellreport.com.

Nonetheless, handling a variety of risky substances and
chemicals does involve significant hazards. We were reminded of that in the last few days in the wake of a tragic case at UCLA and the anthrax exposure flap at the CDC.

According to a report yesterday, as many as 84
persons were potentially exposed to live anthrax at CDC laboratories in
Atlanta. The details of how the exposure
came about are still being investigated, but it is clear that it involved a
breach of safety standards.

Anthrax, of course, can cause death. Along the way, the inhalation form of the
disease “progresses rapidly with high fever, severe shortness of breath, rapid
breathing, bluish color to the skin, a great deal of sweating, vomiting blood
and chest pain that may be so severe as to seem like a heart
attack,” according to emedicineheath.com.

The researcher involved, Patrick Harran, became the first professor
in the United States to be

charged with a felony in the death of a worker. Last Friday a judge approved a deal in which Harran
admitted no wrongdoing. According to an article by Kim Christensen in the Los Angeles Times, he agreed to “develop and
teach an organic chemistry course for college-bound inner-city students for
five summers, perform 800 hours of non-teaching community service in the UCLA
Hospital system, and pay $10,000 to the Grossman Burn Center in lieu of
restitution to Sangji's family.”

In return, he will serve no jail time.

Her family was bitter about both settlements. The family said in a statement,

"This settlement, like the previous one with UCLA, is
barely a slap on the wrist for the responsible individual."

What does all this have to do with stem cell research in
California? Thousands of persons work in labs linked to such research in the
Golden State. Sometimes they deal with dangerous substances. It behooves the scientists in charge to
ensure that none of their workers suffer because of a failure to adhere to
safety standards. Moreover, safety at state-funded labs should be a matter of utmost
concern for the folks at the California stem cell agency who have more than $1
billion in experiments under their oversight. It wouldn’t hurt to remind recipients of state
largess of the need for making safety their No. 1 task.

About Me

The California Stem Cell Report is the only nongovernmental website devoted solely to the $3 billion California stem cell agency. The report is published by David Jensen, who worked for 22 years for The Sacramento Bee in a variety of editing positions, including executive business editor and special projects editor. He was the primary editor on the 1992 Pulitzer Prize-winning series, "The Monkey Wars" by Deborah Blum, which dealt with opposition to research on primates. Jensen served as a press aide in the 1974 campaign and first administration of Gov. Jerry Brown. (Time served: two years and one week.) He writes from his sailboat on the west coast of Mexico with occasional visits to land. Jensen began writing about the stem cell agency in 2005, noting that it is an unprecedented effort that uniquely combines big science, big business, big academia, big politics, religion, ethics and morality as well as life and death. The California Stem Cell Report has been identified as one of the best stem cell sites on the Internet. Its readership includes the media (both mainstream and science), a wide range of academic/research institutions globally, the NIH and California policy makers.